


You Can't Play The Game If You Don't Have A Player

by HoneyxMonkey



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Kidnapping, also, basically player has alot of overprotective parents, carmen be like: MOM MODE ACTIVATED, dadowsan, get ready for some good 'ol angst, player lowkey got himself into alot of trouble, vile absolutely has no problems with kidnapping kids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:47:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24300838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoneyxMonkey/pseuds/HoneyxMonkey
Summary: They didn't know. They didn't find out until it had been almost two weeks. They worried for two weeks until they finally decided to find out what was wrong. Why hadn't he called them? Where was he? Was he okay?They landed in Ontario, Canada for the first time ever with a very specific mission. Find out what happened to Player. They needed to find their hacker.
Relationships: Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep & Zack, Ivy & Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep, Player & Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep
Comments: 38
Kudos: 230





	1. Chapter 1

"Come on Player, where are you?" Carmen was trying her best to keep calm but Player had been off the comms for almost two weeks now and she would be lying if she said she wasn't concerned. There had been nothing. No contact, no text, no letter, _nothing_. After two weeks she finally decided to do something she'd promised her friend she would never do. She had to go to Ontario. She just needed to know that he was alright.

Carmen, Ivy, Zack, and Shadowsan stepped off the plane, all wary of what they might find. Lucky for them, Carmen knew his address since she was the one who sent him all their little V.I.L.E. packages.

They pulled up to the house, Carmen taking careful note of the police tape encircling one area of the front yard. She knocked on the door and waited.

A middle aged woman with dark brown hair and brown eyes came to the door. She looked like she'd been crying.

"Yes?" She asked, a warily hopeful look in her eye. "Are you from the station? Please, tell me you found something!"

Carmen held up her hands. "I'm sorry?"

The woman visibly deflated and leaned heavily against the doorframe. "Please..." her voice was barely over a whisper. "They haven't found anything. He's been missing for two weeks and they haven't found anything."

Carmen's eyes widened. "Mrs. Harris, I presume?"

She nodded.

"My name is Carmen Sandiego. These are my colleagues. We aren't law enforcers but we do want to help." She offered Player's mother a soft smile. "Can you tell us everything you know?"

For some unknown reason, she'd trusted them. Maybe it had been the look in Carmen's eye, but Elena Harris trusted them and told them what happened.

"Well, I- I don't know much. My husband, James and I, had gone out for the evening. Jace said he would be fine on his own and, he usually is, but when we got home he wasn't there. His room was completely torn apart and he was missing. We immediately called the police but they haven't found anything and it's been two weeks."

Carmen nodded. "Do you mind if we check his room? There may be something there the police missed."

Elena nodded vigorously. "Yes. Just, please find him. Please."

"We'll do the best we can." Which, Carmen would admit, wasn't alot without Player.

As soon as they stepped foot in his room Ivy gasped with shock. The place was a wreck. The computer screens had been smashed and there was a blood-stained baseball bat laying on the floor. A rag lay discarded on the floor as well. Carmen picked it up and sniffed it once. She immediately felt lightheaded. Chloroform. Whatever had happened, Player must have fought back _hard_.

"Carm?"

She looked up to see Zack holding a sticky note. It had been placed underneath one of the tables. How the police had missed it was beyond her.

She took it from him to read it.

_To Carmen Sandiego,_

_We found your little pet hacker. If you ever want to see him alive again, surrender yourself at these coordinates. You have three weeks. - V.I.L.E._

Carmen clutched the little sticky note tightly, hot, angry tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. How dare they? Player was only sixteen. How could they use a child for a ransom like this?

"What do we do?" Ivy asked timidly.

"We get him back and make V.I.L.E. pay for this." Carmen looked up at her friends, something new beginning to take hold inside of her. "They won't get away with this. I won't let them."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They have the coords. They need a plan.

"We know where they're keeping him, now we just need a plan to get him back." Carmen had been pacing the room for the last thirty minutes. She was scared. She was terrified that they would hurt Player, if they hadn't already.

* * *

_**Two Weeks Ago** _

Player was typing away at his keyboard when he heard it. The sound of the window in the hallway opening. He quickly shut off his monitors when the door to his room opened and he was staring face-to-face with Le Chevre and El Topo. They grinned at the teen.

"Well, well, well." Le Chevre chuckled. "We finally get to see the brains behind all of Carmen's capers and it turns out to a child?"

Player backed against the desk, blindly fumbling for the bat that was hidden underneath it. He was never more thankful for Reese's pushiness to always have a weapon on hand when he swung it with as much force as he could muster at El Topo's head. It hit its mark with a loud crack. El Topo stumbled back, clutching his now bleeding noggin.

Player tried to run past them but didn't even make it to the door before Le Chevre grabbed his arm. He dropped the bat and kicked at the much taller man.

"Let me go!" He screamed, fighting back as much as he could. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't very physically strong so there was almost no hope in getting away. That didn't mean he would go quietly. "Let go! What do you want!?!"

Le Chevre gripped both his arms, pulling the teen close to render his struggling to a minimum. "It's very simple, my boy. Without you, Carmen can not do what she does. Without you, there is no Carmen Sandiego."

After hearing that, Player struggled even harder even though he knew it wouldn't help him. He fought back with every fiber of his being and it wasn't getting him anywhere. He did almost manage to get away by kicking Le Chevre really hard in the balls. The Goat stumbled back into the desk, clearly in pain. Player turned to the door to find El Topo was already up. Blood was pouring down his face and he looked _pissed._ At that moment he realized he wasn't going to get away. He was about to press his emergency call button on his phone to alert Carmen when Le Chevre grabbed him from behind, pressing a cloth against his mouth and nose. A sickly sweet smell flooded his senses and he began to feel light headed. He thrashed in Le Chevre's grip, his actions quickly becoming more sluggish as the chloroform began to take effect. Finally he lost his grip on consciousness and fell limply into the french man's arms.

Le Chevre discarded the cloth, a little bit too in pain to care about the mess they were leaving behind. "This kid had better be worth the hassle." He grumbled to himself, hoisting the teen over his shoulder as he and his partner exited the house where the Cleaners were waiting with a pick-me-up.

* * *

Carmen was going to need back up if she was going to pull this off and get Player back safely. She needed to find Julia Argent.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ACME may not trust her, but Julia Argent still does. And right now, that's all Carmen needs.

"Agent Harris, I understand your concern over this but a local kidnapping is not cause for ACME interference. I'm sorry, but I'm not getting involved." Chief turned back to the screen monitors. They were still looking for Carmen Sandiego.

The young woman next to her grabbed Chief's arm, tears pooling in the corner of her eyes. " _Please._ Chief, I told you I was concerned that he was getting himself into trouble and then this happens? What if V.I.L.E. or Carmen Sandiego has something to do with it?" The agent gripped her boss' arm a little tighter. "He's been missing for two weeks."

Chief gently pushed her hand away. "I know, Reese. But there's nothing I can do if I don't have a lead."

"But I do."

They both spun around at the sound of a new voice. Carmen Sandiego stood there, arms crossed and looking uncharacteristically defeated and tired.

"Miss Sandiego," Chief met her eyes with a steely gaze. "I didn't think you would show your face around here after that stunt you pulled last August." She looked around. "How did you even get in here?"

"I have my ways." There was no smugness. She just looked tired, desperate. Her eyes were rimmed with red, an indication of a lack of sleep. She turned her attention to the agent standing beside Chief. "Reese Harris?"

Reese nodded. "How do you know me? And what do you have to do with this?"

"Your younger brother, Jace, is my hacker." Carmen paused for a moment. "He's the reason all of my capers have worked. He plans everything, makes sure everything goes smoothly. He's the one who hacked into ACME's system."

Reese knew better than to lose her cool. She needed to know the full story. "How long?"

"Two years." Carmen looked at the ground. "V.I.L.E. found him. Two weeks ago he was kidnapped to get me to surrender to them. I only have one week left to surrender or they..." she bit her lip, almost not able to say it. "But I can't. If I do, they'll kill him anyway, which is why I need ACME's help. I know where he is but I can't do anything. I'm not the one who plans these things, he is. They think I have no other options which is why I came to you. Chief, please. I know I crossed a line but he doesn't deserve this. He's just a kid."

Chief let the scarlet thief finish before speaking. "And why would you even allow a teenager to assist you in your endeavors?"

Carmen explained how she'd first made contact with Player. How he'd been her first real friend, her first link to the outside world.

"Jace is my best friend. I don't want anything to happen to him so, please." She looked at the Chief with desperation in her eyes. "Help me get him back."

Chief sighed. She had no intention of leaving a sixteen year old boy in the clutches of the enemy, especially when that boy was one of her agents siblings. "Very well. Seeing as how this is no longer a local thing, ACME will help you but it's one time, Miss Sandiego. After the boy is safe, you better watch your back. I don't trust you."

Carmen nodded, turning to find the one person she knew would still have her back in this company. Julia Argent.

* * *

_**Two weeks ago, Five hours and twenty minutes after what happened in Ontario** _

El Topo and Le Chevre dragged a now fully awake Player into the new V.I.L.E. headquarters. He was very loudly protesting his thoughts on the matter.

"Let go of me! Carmen won't fall for this!" A string of curses proceeded his yelling.

"Well he certainly has a mouth for being such a small thing, doesn't he?" Coach Brunt's voice piped up from up ahead. She approached them, a triumphant smirk on her face. "So you're the brains behind all of Black Sheep's operations?" She leaned down so she was at eye level with him. Her efforts were met with a menacing glare. If looks could kill, Coach would be dead ten times over. "You certainly don't look like much, but I know looks can be deceiving."

"Carmen won't come."

"Oh, on the contrary my young friend. One of the best things about Black Sheep is her unwavering loyalty to her new friends. That means you." She grinned. "She will come for you, however long it takes."

Player felt panic rise up inside of him. He knew Carmen would come for him no matter what. That meant she was walking straight into a trap and he knew she knew that.

"Nothing else to say?" Coach Brunt smirked, knowing she'd won. "Stallion, take him to a cell. We'll interrogate him later. For now, I have some other matters to attend to."

A young woman stepped out from behind the coach, a smug smirk on her face until she saw exactly who was V.I.L.E.'s newest hostage.

Player gasped upon seeing her face and felt his entire world begin to crumble. "Liz?" He asked carefully, quietly, hoping this wasn't real.

"Jace..." She looked shocked. "You're... you're Carmen's secret weapon?"

Player was aware he was starting to panic. "And you're working for V.I.L.E.? The literal organisation of evil bent on world destruction." He pushed down his panic and glared at Liz, the woman he thought he knew. "Is this why you've been out of contact for the last year!?"

Liz just stared at him in shock. This was... no, this _couldn't_ be happening. "You... _why? How!"_ she didn't know what to do. "How long have you-"

"I'm not telling you anything!" He growled out, not even bothering to mask the hurt and betrayal in his voice.

"Jace, this isn't about V.I.L.E. or Carmen, how long have you been doing this? Don't you know how dangerous it is to get involved with this stuff!" Liz didn't know what else to say. She thought he was safe from all this.

"You don't get to be mad at me when you've been working with _them."_

Coach Brunt looked between them. "Stallion, do you know him?"

The young operative sucked in her breath. She answered Brunt's question without ever breaking eye contact with the boy in front of her.

"Yes ma'am. He's my brother."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, because I don't you guys being confused and yelling at me in the comments but because I also don't want to spoil anything, I'll give you the rundown of this sibling drama.
> 
> First off, Reese and Eliza(Liz), are twin sisters. They're about 11 years older than Player who's 16 in this. I really liked the idea of having Player have these siblings, one who chose ACME and one who chose V.I.L.E. while he's in the middle of it all as Carmen's secret weapon. I thought it would be really cool narratively.
> 
> Also, I just live for angst.


	4. Chapter 4

Player sat in the dingy cell, knees drawn up to his chest. He couldn’t believe this. His sister… his  _ sister  _ was V.I.L.E. She was part of the evil organisation he and Carmen had been spending years trying to destroy. He didn’t even notice he was crying. 

Footsteps echoed down the hallway and Player scrambled back until he hit the stone wall. He waited with baited breath until the person came into view. He didn’t relax when he saw Liz.

“Jace?” She asked him quietly but only got him turning away from her in response. She sighed. “Jace talk to me. Please.”

Player squeezed his eyes shut, leaning his head against the wall. He curled up further, content to give his sister the silent treatment. She didn’t deserve to give him her excuses. He didn’t want her to. Too many lies. Too many secrets. She’d kept so much from them. Her  _ family. _

“Jace  _ please.”  _ Liz grabbed the bars of the cell. “I need you to know why I did it.”

“I don’t care.” Player whispered, not turning to look at her. “I don’t care  _ why  _ you did it. You still did it.” He wiped at his eyes and glared at her. “Is it fun, Liz? Is it fun playing the bad guy? Are you happy now? Are you satisfied with what you’ve done with your life?”

Liz grit her teeth. “Jace, V.I.L.E is more than what you think it is. We have a greater purpose.”

Player rolled his eyes, looking away from her again. How could she possibly believe this is what she should be doing? Why is she doing this? “Is it worth it?” He asked quietly, glancing at her. “Is this worth abandoning your family? Your  _ real  _ family?”

Liz looked away from him. “I think that I’ve found more of a family with V.I.L.E than I did with you.” She stood and walked away, leaving her brother alone in the cell.

______________________

Carmen was  _ not _ having a good day. Time was running out and they still didn’t have a proper plan. 

She sat in a metal chair, head buried in her hands as Devinaux rambled on about something she didn’t particularly care for.  _ None  _ of this was getting them any closer to finding Player.

Julia was standing behind her, a comforting hand on her shoulder. The woman had done quite alot to come up with a plan that could work, but none of them had been successful. Carmen was still thankful for her help.

Carmen’s shoulders began to shake with tears. Her mind was plagued with thoughts of what Player might be going through in the hands of V.I.L.E.

“Carmen?” Julia asked gently, shocked to find the woman in red was crying. “Carmen are you alright?”

In the corner of the room, Zack and Ivy noticed her state of distress and came over to comfort her.

Ivy knelt in front of Carmen, taking her hands and smiling. “Hey, it’s going to be okay Carm. I know you miss him and you’re worried about him, we are too. But that kid is tough as nails. He’s gonna be okay.”

Zack nodded and put a hand on her back. “Yeah. He’s going to be just fine! We’ll get him back and make V.I.L.E pay for this.”

Carmen smiled at their words but they could still see tears in her eyes. “Thanks guys. I just-” she cleared her throat and wiped away any evidence that she’d been crying. “I just always wanted to make sure he never got into the physical side of this. I wanted him to stay safe and now Player is in danger because of me.”

Ivy carefully made Carmen look at her. “If you blame yourself one more time I’m going to kick you.” She had a serious look in her eyes. “I know that Player doesn’t blame you for this. So don’t you go around blaming yourself.”

Carmen nodded, knowing Ivy would actually probably kick her. “Thanks Ivy.”

“Now lets go find our hacker.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its a little short but I got my motivation back! and s4 absolutely murdered my heart.


End file.
